{"id":4870,"date":"2026-08-25T13:16:37","date_gmt":"2026-08-25T13:16:37","guid":{"rendered":"\/news\/"},"modified":"2026-08-25T13:16:37","modified_gmt":"2026-08-25T13:16:37","slug":"meet-the-catalyst-2026-finalists-oben-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/news\/meet-the-catalyst-2026-finalists-oben-health","title":{"rendered":"Meet the Catalyst 2026 Finalists: Oben Health"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[15,14],"class_list":["post-4870","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog","tag-catalyst","tag-social-entrepreneurship"],"acf":{"header":{"copy":"","hero_image":false,"hero_image_treatment":"cover","video":false,"inversed":false,"members_only":false},"premium_image":false,"author":{"team_member":false,"name":"","title":"","image":false,"has_second_author":false,"second_author":false,"second_author_name":"","second_author_title":"","second_author_image":false},"caption":"","youtube_id":"","image":false,"components":[{"acf_fc_layout":"text","text":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

Nearly 50% of adults in the United States have high blood pressure. Known as the \u201csilent killer,\u201d untreated hypertension damages the brain, heart, and kidneys for years without obvious symptoms. With almost 100 million Americans without a primary care provider, Oben Health<\/a> is using wireless to increase blood pressure screenings in vulnerable communities, turning trusted barbershops and hair salons into community healthcare access points.<\/p>\n

Oben Health Founder & CEO Peter Njongwe experienced the impact of this firsthand when his brother Oben passed away from uncontrolled hypertension at the age of 36, leaving behind a wife and two children. Peter believes that if his brother had been screened for hypertension and given a clear understanding of his health, he would still be alive today.<\/p>\n

Through their mobile app, Oben Health trains stylists and barbers as certified Community Health Workers (CHWs), enabling them to conduct blood pressure screenings and coordinate ongoing care for high-risk individuals. This approach meets people where they are, in a trusted community space, to remove barriers to access and expand preventive care.<\/p>\n","show_glossary":false,"glossary":null,"show_infographic":false,"infographic":null,"show_document":false,"document":null,"show_video":false,"video_caption":"","video_youtube_id":"","video_image":false,"show_image":false,"sidebar_image":false,"sidebar_image_caption":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"quote","text":"Our model is uniquely effective because barbers and stylists interact with clients regularly\u2014often monthly\u2014creating consistent opportunities for screening, follow-up, and reinforcement of care plans that wouldn\u2019t be possible without mobile technology.","name":"Peter Njongwe, Oben Health Founder & CEO","source":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"text","text":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

During routine haircuts, CHWs use their smartphones to enter screening data and coordinate care in real time. Patient data is analyzed by an AI-powered system and translated into actionable guidance. From there, participants are connected to healthcare providers and supported through ongoing in-app coaching, promoting continuous engagement and accountability. In the barber shops where Oben Health is deployed, 63% of those screened had undiagnosed hypertension and enrolled in the program.<\/p>\n

We are excited to welcome Oben Health as a Catalyst<\/a> 2026 Finalist and be part of their journey connecting underserved communities to care.<\/p>\n","show_glossary":false,"glossary":null,"show_infographic":false,"infographic":null,"show_document":false,"document":null,"show_video":false,"video_caption":"","video_youtube_id":"","video_image":false,"show_image":false,"sidebar_image":false,"sidebar_image_caption":""}],"url":"meet-the-catalyst-2026-finalists-oben-health","meta_title":"","meta_keywords":"","meta_description":"","footer":[{"acf_fc_layout":"learn_more","heading":"Catalyst","copy":"A grants program for ambitious social entrepreneurs using the power of 5G and leading edge wireless technologies.","button":"Learn More","link":"https:\/\/www.wirelessfoundation.org\/catalyst"},{"acf_fc_layout":"related","related":[{"ID":4838,"post_author":"21","post_date":"2026-07-21 17:51:33","post_date_gmt":"2026-07-21 17:51:33","post_content":"","post_title":"Meet the Catalyst 2026 Finalists: Empower Work","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"meet-the-catalyst-2026-finalists-empower-work","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2026-07-21 17:51:33","post_modified_gmt":"2026-07-21 17:51:33","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"\/news\/","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":4859,"post_author":"21","post_date":"2026-08-12 13:37:55","post_date_gmt":"2026-08-12 13:37:55","post_content":"","post_title":"Meet the Catalyst 2026 Finalists: FreeWorld","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"meet-the-catalyst-2026-finalists-freeworld","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2026-08-12 13:37:55","post_modified_gmt":"2026-08-12 13:37:55","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"\/news\/","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":4888,"post_author":"21","post_date":"2026-08-18 13:12:42","post_date_gmt":"2026-08-18 13:12:42","post_content":"","post_title":"Meet the Catalyst 2026 Finalists: LitZone","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"meet-the-catalyst-2026-finalists-litzone","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2026-08-18 13:12:42","post_modified_gmt":"2026-08-18 13:12:42","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"\/news\/","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}]}]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/api.wirelessfoundation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4870","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/api.wirelessfoundation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/api.wirelessfoundation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/api.wirelessfoundation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/api.wirelessfoundation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4870"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/api.wirelessfoundation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4870\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4950,"href":"https:\/\/api.wirelessfoundation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4870\/revisions\/4950"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/api.wirelessfoundation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4870"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/api.wirelessfoundation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4870"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/api.wirelessfoundation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4870"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}